Israel Adesanya has been reminiscing about his first reign as UFC middleweight champion.
‘The Last Stylebender’ dropped Kelvin Gastelum four times to win an interim title in April 2019 – but he wasn’t the true 185lb king until he knocked out Robert Whittaker after dancing his way to the Octagon a few months later.
Israel Adesanya‘s last defense before Alex Pereira took his belt in a major upset at UFC 281 in November 2022, was a dominant decision win over perennial contender Jared Cannonier, who struggled to get near him at UFC 276
Ahead of his return to the cage against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Adesanya has reflected on the time he broke the Drake ‘curse’ when the rap superstar placed a hefty bet on him winning.
Israel Adesanya reacts to old Drake video
On Tuesday, SportsCenter shared an old video of Adesanya and Drake conversing on Facetime ahead of UFC 276.
The ‘One Dance’ hitmaker is a massive fight fan, who is known for wagering astronomical amounts of money on big fights. Before Adesanya fought Cannonier, he called to tell the New Zealander what he had riding on his latest title defense.
“I had to put a light mill on my brother,” Drake said. “Return on investment is a lot.
“I just wanna wish you good luck. You know I love you, brother. You’re different. I have a deep, deep love and respect for you. A deep love and respect.”
Adesanya got the top comment on the video when he replied: “‘What f***in’ curse?!’ IYKYK.”
Drake walked away with $1.3 million after backing Adesanya – but the Canadian superstar has had mixed results since then as he’s continued to back his pal during his 1-3 slump inside the Octagon.
Pereira’s come from behind KO cost Drake £1,240,000. However, he won most of it back when Adesanya got his revenge by putting ‘Poatan’ to sleep in their UFC 287 rematch.
Since then, ‘Champagne Papi’ has lost another $950,000 betting on Adesanya to beat Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, who have put him on a two-fight losing skid heading into UFC Saudi Arabia.
Israel Adesanya eyes fight with another middleweight contender
Adesanya already has one eye on the next opponent he wants to face after beating Imavov.
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Adesanya called out Caio Borralho for a fight.
“Good style, I like his style,” the 35-year-old said.
“Our interactions have been respectful and cordial. And it’s just f***ing hands, bro. You’re good, I’m good, let’s throw hands and see what’s up. No bad blood or nothing, I just want to test myself against these young guys like Nassourdine Imavov.
“I know the answer, but I want to prove it to myself and find out myself. So we’re going to find out.”